Every year, more than 200,000 people visit UK hospitals following self-harm. People who self-harm are at a much greater risk of suicide and it is important that researchers develop effective interventions to improve mental health and reduce suicide risk in this group. However the numbers of people who take part in self-harm research is low, suggesting that strategies to engage service users and the outcomes measured in research are not relevant or appropriate.

First, we will involve groups of people who have self-harmed to discuss with them the best ways to ask people to participate in research about self-harm, and seek their views on the reasons why people do or don’t take part. We will also explore with them how best to talk to people about their self-harm to find out what is important to them.

Once we have developed novel ways of approaching and recruiting people, we will use these strategies to invite up to 20 service users to take part in interviews. These will explore what people want from a treatment, what outcomes are important to them, and their views about the outcomes that are currently measured in trials.

Project aims

Through this research we aim to understand how best to engage service users in research in a more representative way and to identify outcomes for people who self-harm that are of greatest relevance to them.

Anticipated impacts

Our findings will inform the development of a set of user-defined outcomes for future self-harm research.

Research themes

Research teams

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Partners on this project

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is a dynamic group of hospitals in the heart of Bristol, with over 100 clinical services across nine sites. They offer care to the people of Bristol and the South West, and have an international reputation for cardiac surgery, paediatric services, oncology and bone marrow transplantation and are the largest centre for medical training and research in the South West.

University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is internationally renowned and one of the very best in the UK, due to its outstanding teaching and research, its superb facilities and highly talented students and staff. Its students thrive in a rich academic environment which is informed by world-leading research. It hosts the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research.